Department for Transport

Railways: Edinburgh and North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 14 of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands published on 18 November 2021, what estimate his Department has made of the number of services per day from London to (a) York and Darlington that will achieve journey savings of 15 minutes, (b) the North East and Edinburgh that will achieve journey savings of 25 minutes and (c) Leeds that will achieve journey savings of 20 minutes.

Huw Merriman: Work undertaken by Mott Macdonald to inform the Integrated Rail Plan, which was published on 24 January 2022, set out a range of time savings for East Coast Main Line destinations based on an assumed timetable structure. Network Rail is now leading more detailed development work. As previously confirmed in the response to question 129879, and subsequently question 136617, detailed timetabling work for the Integrated Rail Plan will be conducted at a later stage of project development. Once developed, an updated East Coast Main Line timetable specification would be subject to public consultation.

Low Emission Zones: Greater London

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the economic impact of the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone on businesses (a) in London and (b) the South East.

Mr Richard Holden: Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL, and it is their responsibility to manage and oversee the transport network. This includes decisions with regards to road schemes. It is for the Mayor to assess the economic impact of his proposed expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), including on businesses in London and the South East. TfL has produced the London-wide ULEZ Integrated Impact Assessment (ULEZ Scheme IIA) report, which includes an economic impact assessment.

Department for Transport: Taxis

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on taxis in each week of 2022.

Jesse Norman: The following table provides the total spend for taxis for the core Department covering the calendar year 2022. We are unable to provide a weekly breakdown of the spend. Calendar YearExpenditure (£’000)202255

Shipping: Conditions of Employment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on bilateral agreements on seafarer welfare and employment conditions with (a) France, (b) the Republic of Ireland, (c) the Netherlands, (d) Belgium, (e) Spain, (f) Denmark and (g) Norway.

Mr Richard Holden: We are liaising with and have engaged all of our near European neighbours on how we can collaborate on seafarer welfare and to explore the creation of minimum wage equivalent corridors. A Bill has been deposited in the French National Assembly that aims to provide a level of pay protection to seafarers working on certain cross-channel services between the UK and France, whilst in specific parts of French territorial waters. We are also working with the French government as they develop their own version of the UK’s Seafarers’ Charter and research into seafarer fatigue.

Railways: Greater Manchester

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train services serving Manchester Piccadilly station were p-coded in each of the last 24 months.

Huw Merriman: The Department does not routinely collect this information centrally. The latest published data on train cancellations can be found on the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) website.The Department does not hold all information relating to "p-coded" services, which is a broad term used in the rail industry for planned alterations to the timetable including omissions from the plan of the day as this is the responsibility of the ORR.Although no data is available by station, the ORR recently published figures for all Train Operating Companies' late notice pre-cancellations "P-code" for resource availability (train crew and rolling stock) in rail period 11.

Northern Ireland Office

Elections: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of voter ID measures on the levels of voter ID fraud in Northern Ireland.

Mr Steve Baker: The Elections Act 2022 makes no changes to the voter ID measures in Northern Ireland with the exception of the addition of two new documents to the existing list of acceptable evidence that may be produced at the polling station. The two new documents are the Half Fare SmartPass and the biometric immigration document. The Electoral Commission will continue to report on their assessment of any electoral fraud following elections in Northern Ireland.

Department of Health and Social Care

Radiology: Telemedicine

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of, patient scans conducted by NHS England were sent to external teleradiology companies for analysis in each of the last three calendar years; and what the cost to the public purse was of the procurement of those services in each of those years.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Agency Nurses

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 October 2022 to Question 48429 on Nurses: Temporary Employment, how much NHS England spent on agency nurses in the 2021-22 financial year.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Databases

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which pilots of the Federated Data Platform were (a) not successful (b) suspended and (c) withdrawn; and if he will list the reasons for each withdrawal.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Palantir: Contracts

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Palantir has failed to meet in (a) part and (b) full the terms of any of its contracts with his Department since January 2020

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ophthalmic Services: Special Educational Needs

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits delivered by the Special School Eye Care Service; whether that scheme will be rolled out beyond the pilot scheme; how many (a) schools and (b) children participated in the pilot; what the total cost of the pilot scheme was; and whether he is taking steps to help ensure that schools which participated in the scheme will be provided with support and advice following the end of the pilot scheme.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to pages 245 and 246 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2021/22, HC1043, what the nature was of the goods already manufactured but not yet delivered for which compensation had to be paid by his Department; and what the (a) name and (b) location was of the supplier in question.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Emergency Calls

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of ambulance calls resulted in face-to-face responses in 2022.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ambulance Services: Strikes

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of ambulance calls resulted in face-to-face responses on the days when ambulance workers took industrial action in December 2022 and January 2023.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Assets

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has approved the (a) sale and (b) disposal of any NHS assets at below market value since December 2019.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Hygiene

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February to Question 137747, what brand of wash and dry devices have been installed within his Departmental estate; between what dates did that installation work take place; and how much did it cost.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Eating Disorders: Hospital Beds

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many child eating disorder beds there were in the NHS in each year since 2010.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Eating Disorders: Hospital Beds

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adult eating disorder beds there were in the NHS in each year since 2010.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Eating Disorders: Training

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking steps to improve training on eating disorders for GPs.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening.

Helen Whately: To improve uptake of cervical screening, in some Primary Care Network areas, appointments can now be made in any Primary Care setting, rather than just at one’s own general practice during evenings and on weekends. To further improve uptake, an evaluation on the acceptability and effectiveness of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling is taking place. The YouScreen Study aims to provide evidence on the acceptability of self-testing and the HPValidate study aims to see if self-testing provides the same level of accuracy as an HPV test undertaken by a clinician.

Independent Investigation into East Kent Maternity Services

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the independent report entitled 'Maternity and neonatal services in East Kent: 'Reading the signals' report', published on 19 October, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of that report's findings; and what steps he is taking to implement that report's recommendations.

Maria Caulfield: The recommendations made in the East Kent report are being reviewed alongside existing work to improve maternity outcomes. The Government has taken time to consider the findings and recommendations set out within the report, to determine how best to take forward the learning into positive changes within the healthcare system. We will be updating the House on our response within the next few weeks.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prevention of future death notices have referenced complications caused by the covid-19 vaccine in each month since December 2020.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has received one Regulation 28 (Prevention of Future Deaths) report regarding complications caused by the COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020, which was issued in October 2022.

Surgical Mesh Implants: Northern Ireland

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she expects a specialist mesh treatment centre to be operational in Northern Ireland.

Maria Caulfield: This is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Health to respond to.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the average waiting time for diagnosis for someone who has been referred with suspected ADHD in by England.

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the backlog of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder assessments.

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to decrease waiting times for diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Maria Caulfield: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population including assessments and diagnosis for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ICBs and National Health Service trusts should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline NG87: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. This NICE guideline aims to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support that people receive.While the NICE guideline does not recommend a maximum waiting time standard from referral for an assessment of ADHD or from assessment to the point of diagnosis, a diagnosis should be made as soon as possible, and we are clear that people should not have to face long waits. Consultant-led mental health services are covered by the NHS 18-week maximum waiting time.We are supporting ICBs to generally expand mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to increasing investment into mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 so that an additional two million people can get the support they need.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department provides to the UK Health Security Agency to support that agency's future pandemic preparedness.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is the United Kingdom’s permanent standing capacity to prepare for, prevent and respond to threats to public health and pandemics. Pandemic preparedness is a core part of this mission in keeping the nation’s health secure.To deliver its remit, UKHSA was allocated funding of c.£450 million in financial year 2022/23 for core activities, which included funding for critical capabilities that enable the UK to prepare for future pandemics, and investment in wider capabilities that will support a pandemic response, such as a dedicated Centre for Pandemic Preparedness function which brings together a network of expertise across Government, academia and the private sector. This network, supported by UKHSA’s core capabilities, helps provide high quality scientific evidence to enable the Government to identify, assess and mitigate the impact of future pandemics, and strong surveillance, genomics, and analysis capabilities, supported by laboratories, that enable us to detect, identify and monitor cases.Other wider capabilities include scientific and clinical expertise that can analyse, classify, and provide advice on the health threat, and provide guidance on appropriate mitigations; and frontline response teams that provide outbreak response, supporting local authorities and other health bodies.

Mental Health Services: North East London Clinical Commissioning Group

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the availability of mental health services in areas under the North East London Clinical Commissioning Group.

Maria Caulfield: The North East London local integrated care board is responsible for commissioning mental health services for their local populations and information on steps being taken locally to improve the availability of mental health services is not held centrally.The Government has committed to increasing investment into mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 which will enable an additional two million people can get the National Health Service funded mental health support that they need across England, including in North East London.

NHS: Hearing Aids

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve access to NHS hearing aids and (b) reduce waiting times for repairs by NHS qualified hearing care providers.

Maria Caulfield: Audiology services are locally commissioned services and responsibility for waiting times for National Health Service audiological services lies with local NHS commissioners.The NHS England’s ‘Action Plan on Hearing Loss’ published in 2015 sets out key objectives on hearing loss including: prevention, early diagnosis, maximising independence, and enabling people to take part in every-day activities. NHS England has produced a series of guides to help deliver the recommendations of the Action Plan which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/what-works-guides-action-plan-on-hearing-loss/If an individual has an NHS hearing aid, they can get free batteries and repairs from the NHS hearing aid service who fitted the hearing aids.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Children

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the consequences for his policies of the impact of Respiratory Syncytial Virus on children under two years of age with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1; and if he will make it his policy to expand the Palivizumab (Synagi) Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) prophylaxis administration to all such children.

Maria Caulfield: The impact of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and other respiratory illnesses on children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is currently being considered by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI is also in the process of reviewing the existing RSV immunisation programme and potentially expanding this to children not currently offered immunisations, including for children with SMA. The JCVI will publish their conclusions in due course and the Government will then consider this for a potential update to existing policy.

Autism: Health Services

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026, published in July 2021, what progress his Department has made in implementing that report’s five year roadmap.

Maria Caulfield: In the ‘National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026’, published in July 2021, we set out our vision for what we want autistic people and their families’ lives to be like in 2026 across six priority areas.Delivery of the cross-Government actions set out in the national Autism Strategy is a priority and progress is monitored through governance arrangements including meetings of the Autism Strategy Implementation Group.More than half of the actions in the Year 1 Implementation Plan have been completed and we continue to progress the other actions. Completed actions include investment of funding to improve autism diagnosis pathways, development of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory training, publishing the draft mental Health Bill and publishing the special educational needs and disabilities and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper. We have revised our governance structure to oversee work to implement the commitments set out in the autism strategy.This year, as one of the mechanisms to implement the aims of the strategy locally, we will be updating the Statutory Guidance on Autism to support the National Health Service and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people.

Neurodiversity: Health Services

Saqib Bhatti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) the voices of neurodiverse individuals are heard and (b) their needs and perspectives are taken into account, in policy formation and decision making processes.

Maria Caulfield: The Department ensures that the voices of neurodiverse individuals are included in the formation of policy and decision-making processes by including Experts by Experience in our governance and delivery arrangements. This includes our Autism Strategy Implementation Group, the Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews Oversight Panel, the Building the Right Support Advisory Group and Delivery Board and the work on Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training.NHS England’s national autism and learning disability programme employs people with lived experience as well as working in partnership with people, families and carers to co-produce and co-design policy and guidance for national implementation.

Autism: Diagnosis

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to access appointments for autism assessments.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for an autism diagnosis.

Maria Caulfield: We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant best practice guidelines when commissioning services, including for autism assessments. The waiting time standard recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is for a maximum waiting time of 13 weeks between a referral for an autism assessment and a first appointment.NHS England are developing a national framework to support the delivery of high quality autism assessment pathways for children, young people and adults. The aim of this work is to improve access to and the quality of these assessment processes and to reduce waiting times. The framework will be published in due course.Building on the 2021/22 investment of £13 million, through the NHS Long Term Plan and COVID-19 Mental Health Recovery Plan, we are investing £2.5 million in 2022/23 to support local areas to make improvements to autism assessment pathways.We are also investing £600,000 into expanding an autism early identification pilot to at least a hundred schools in the Bradford area over five years. This programme will help with the early identification of neurodivergent children.

HIV Infection: Screening

Nicola Richards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence entitled HIV testing: increasing uptake among people who may have undiagnosed HIV, published on 1 December 2016, whether his Department plans to provide funding for opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments in (a) West Bromwich East constituency, (b) Sandwell and (c) other areas with a high prevalence of HIV.

Neil O'Brien: As part of the Government’s ‘Towards Zero: the HIV Action Plan for England - 2022 to 2025’, NHS England has expanded opt-out human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in accident and emergency departments in areas of extremely high diagnosed HIV prevalence (over five cases per 1,000 people), a proven effective way to identify new HIV cases in line with the guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. NHS England is investing £20 million over three years from 2022 to 2025 to support this activity.We will be considering the full evidence from the first year of opt-out testing, alongside the data on progress towards our ambition of ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030, to decide whether we further expand this programme to areas with high HIV prevalence (two to five cases per 1,000 people). We will also share the findings from the opt-out testing programme with local health systems to inform local decisions on expansion.

Health: Children

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help tackle child health (a) inequalities and (b) issues linked to child poverty.

Neil O'Brien: In November 2022, NHS England published Core20PLUS5, an approach to reducing health inequalities for children and young people at a national and system level. The approach defines a target population and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement: asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health, and mental health.The Department leads a range of public health interventions and guidance for ages 0 to 19 years old that provide universal support, but also help identify further needs and safeguarding concerns. We also deliver programmes targeted at particular populations, including the Family Nurse Partnership to support vulnerable young mothers, the Healthy Start scheme for low-income families, and targeted Mental Health Support Teams in schools.On 9 February 2023, the Government confirmed the 75 eligible local authorities who will deliver approximately £300 million Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, and the 14 local authorities selected as programme trailblazers. The programme’s objective is to join up and enhance services delivered through transformed Family Hubs. This will ensure all parents and carers can access the support they need at the time they need it.By investing in 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation, we aim to help reduce inequalities in health and education outcomes for babies, children, and families across England.

Earwax: Medical Treatments

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help increase access to ear wax removal for people who cannot afford private treatment.

Neil O'Brien: As recommended in guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), ear wax removal services are available on the National Health Service when there is a clinical need. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning local health services to meet the health needs of local people. This includes arranging the provision of ear wax removal services on the NHS for patients in line with the recommendations on ear wax removal services in the NICE guidance.

Health Services

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 24 January 2023 on Government Action on Major Conditions and Diseases, HCWS514, whether the Major Conditions Strategy will be a five or 10 year strategy.

Helen Whately: The Major Conditions Strategy will include both immediate and long term action to tackle major conditions. The Strategy’s focus is on tackling conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England: including cancers; cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes; chronic respiratory diseases; dementia; mental ill health; and musculoskeletal conditions.

Lung Diseases: Screening

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to (a) Targeted Lung Health Check sites and (b) CT scanners for eligible patients in England.

Helen Whately: The Targeted Lung Health Check (TLHC) is a National Health Service programme designed to identify signs of cancer at an early stage when it is much more treatable. There will be 43 TLHC sites live in England by March 2023, there are currently 34 live.

Essential Tremor: Magnetic Resonance Imagers

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2022 to Question 92245 on Essential Tremor: Liverpool, if his Department will take steps to provide support to centres wanting to offer MR-Guided Focussed Ultrasound for Essential Tremor.

Helen Whately: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (London) and The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust (Liverpool) provide this treatment in England and can meet the patient demand. There are no current plans to expand the number of providers offering this treatment.

Emergency Calls

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many 999 ambulance calls went unanswered in each of the last five months in England.

Will Quince: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Doctors: Private Sector

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS doctors who also conduct work for private practice.

Will Quince: The information requested is not held centrally.

Cancer: Health Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a long term strategy for cancer to improve cancer outcomes in England.

Helen Whately: The Major Conditions Strategy will look at cancer, covering the patient pathway from prevention, through treatment, to follow-up care. The strategy will look at a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for cancer patients.

Ambulance Services: Expenditure

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) total amount and (b) breakdown of how much NHS Trusts have spent on private ambulance services in each year since 2010.

Will Quince: There are no plans to publish National Health Service trust spend on private ambulance services. This information is not collected centrally by the Department.

Ambulance Services: Emergency Calls

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the efficacy of the ambulance call out response in (a) the hub and spoke model and (b) traditional ambulance station models.

Will Quince: No specific assessment has been made. The configuration of ambulance trust estates is an operational matter for the National Health Service.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs: Classroom Assistants

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of average pay for special educational needs teaching assistants in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: The Government’s education reforms have given schools the freedom to make their own decisions about budgets. Schools can recruit teaching assistants according to the school’s circumstances and set pay and conditions. All schools have different characteristics and should have the freedom to make these decisions.Most schools follow local government pay scales, and some pay more when they can afford to do so. The Government does not have a role in setting these pay scales and there is no national pay body. Instead, most councils take part in collective negotiations. The Local Government Association represents the employer when negotiating with the local government trade unions, UNISON, Unite and the GMB, which represent the employee.Support staff, including teaching assistants, on pay scales, or in schools that mirror them, have received a pay rise of 10% on average, backdated to April 2022.

Primary Education: Physical Education and Sports

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce funding arrangements for (a) school games organisers and (b) the PE and sport premium for primary schools for the 2023-24 financial year.

Nick Gibb: Details of funding for the Primary PE and sport premium and School Games for the 2023/24 academic year will be announced shortly.

Students: Cost of Living

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department has provided to university students to help with the cost of living.

Robert Halfon: The government reviews the support provided to cover students’ living costs on an annual basis.On 11 January 2023, the department boosted this year's student premium by £15 million to support more students. Meaning this year we provided £276 million of support though student premium funding. This extra funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship, and hardship support schemes. The department works with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure universities support students using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.We have continued to increase maximum loans and grants each year, with a 2.3% increase for the current 2022/23 academic year and a further 2.8% increase for 2023/24.Loans that support with students’ living costs are a contribution towards their living costs while attending university, with the highest levels of support targeted at students who need it the most, such as students from low-income families. Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the tax year 2022/23 has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.All households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Act passed on 25 October 2022 includes the provision which requires landlords to pass any benefits they receive from energy price support onto end users, as appropriate. Further details of the requirements under this Act are set out in the legislation.

Carers: Ashfield

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how many children are in kinship care in Ashfield and Eastwood.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not hold information centrally on the number of children in kinship care, therefore we are unable to provide the information requested.

Hearing Impairment: Teachers

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there are enough teachers qualified to teach deaf and partially-deaf children.

Claire Coutinho: The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with a hearing impairment, receive the support needed to succeed in their education.It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils with sensory impairments to hold the relevant Mandatory Qualification for Sensory Impairment (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by the department.We have developed a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the 2023/24 academic year. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing and multi-sensory impairments, in both specialist and mainstream settings.

Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2023 on Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment, for what reason the School Workforce Census data does not collect data on the numbers of Teachers of the Deaf employed by schools and local authorities; and whether her Department plans to collect these data.

Claire Coutinho: Information on the school workforce in England is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.Information on the qualifications held by teachers is collected in the annual census. In the subject categories that the department collects, qualifications to teach children with a hearing impairment would come under the broader category of ‘SEN – Sensory impairment’, which covers other sensory impairments, such as visual and multi-sensory impairments.There are currently no plans to change the collected list of qualification subjects to identify qualifications relating to sensory impairments at a more granular level.The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including hearing impairments, receive the support they need to achieve throughout their education.

British Students Abroad

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of students in British universities who have opted to study abroad as a part of their degree in each of the last five years.

Robert Halfon: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on higher education (HE) at UK Higher Education Providers (HEPs). Latest statistics refer to the 2021/22 academic year.HESA has included a new table in their Open Data resources from this year, showing HE student enrolments by their location of study, which includes if the student was abroad for the whole or proportion of the year. This data item displays actual participation in a placement abroad rather than the students’ intent at the start of the course, and the information is available for individual HEPs.The numbers of student enrolments studying abroad in the latest five years is provided in table 60, which can be found here:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-60.

Dance: Health Education

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report of the Sport and Recreational Alliance on the Social value of movement and dance, published in February 2023; and if she will take steps to raise awareness of the report among schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department wants all pupils to be healthy and active and understands that a positive experience of sport and physical activity at a young age can create a lifelong habit of participation.The Department recognises that physical exercise is good for pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Dance can play an important role, which is why it features specifically in the content of the Physical Education (PE) and Sport National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 to 3.Schools are free to decide how to include dance as part of the PE and Sport curriculum, to suit the needs of their pupils. It is up to schools to decide what extracurricular activity they provide for their pupils. The Sport and Recreational Alliance report may be useful to schools in making those decisions.

Schools: Leicester

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in (a) Leicester West, (b) Leicester East and (c) Leicester South constituencies had at least one construction element in condition grade (i) C and (ii) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (A) have received funding and (B) are expected to receive funding in the next two years from the School Rebuilding Programme.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in West Bromwich East constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in West Bromwich West constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Copeland constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Workington constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Chichester constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in East Surrey constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Harlow constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Richmond (Yorks) constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The data is being prepared and will be published as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for SRP:Parliamentary constituency Schools selected for SRPLeicester EastCatherine Infant School, announced February 2021 Orchard Mead Academy, announced December 2022 Shenton Primary School, announced December 2022West Bromwich WestOcker Hill Academy, announced December 2022WorkingtonCockermouth School, announced December 2022ChichesterLittlegreen Academy, announced December 2022East Surreyde Stafford School, announced December 2022HarlowBurnt Mill Academy, announced July 2021 St Mark's West Essex Catholic School, announced July 2022Richmond (Yorks)Michael Syddall Church of England Aided Primary School, announced July 2021 Roseberry Academy, announced December 2022The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Schools: Sanitary Protection

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the free period products for schools’ scheme.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether has plans to extend free period products to primary schools.

Nick Gibb: No one should be held back from accessing education due to their period, which is why the Department launched the Period Products Scheme, providing pupils with period products when they need them. Since its launch in January 2020, 97% of secondary schools and 92% of post 16 colleges in England now provide free period products to pupils.The Scheme already extends to all state funded primary schools with pupils in Years 5 and 6. Since its launch in January 2020, 68% of primary schools have ordered period products using the Scheme at least once.The Department publishes statistics regarding the Scheme’s operation, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-scheme-management-information.The Department is considering opportunities to publish further management information in the future, as well as the need for further research into the Scheme.

Arts: Secondary Education

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to increase opportunities for (a) exposure to and (b) engagement with the arts in secondary schools.

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to encourage the uptake of creative subjects at GCSE level.

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing an arts premium to encourage state schools to increase the (a) range and (b) quality of arts provision.

Nick Gibb: The Government believes in a high quality education for all pupils and cultural education, including the wider arts, music, and creative subjects, is integral to this. All state funded schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum. This includes promoting pupils' cultural development.The Department published the Model Music Curriculum in 2021 and a refreshed National Plan for Music Education in 2022 to support teachers in delivering high quality music education. The Department will publish a Cultural Education Plan in 2023 to support arts and heritage, working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England. This will include how best to support young people who wish to pursue careers in the creative and cultural industries.The Department will continue to spend around £115 million per annum in cultural education over three years, through music, arts, and heritage programmes.With the real terms per pupil increases to core school funding and the nearly £5 billion that has been announced for education recovery, schools will continue to have the flexibility to deliver a broad and ambitious curriculum and enrichment activities, including in arts and creative subjects.With the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s education, the Department’s priorities have been to focus on education recovery in the recent Spending Review. The Government remains committed to the ambitions for a Cultural Education Plan and will give consideration for a future arts premium in due course.

Department for Education: Mobile Phones

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) iPhone 12, (b) iPhone 13 and (c) iPhone 14 devices were purchased for use by staff in her core Department in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Nick Gibb: The Department has not purchased any iPhone 12, 13, or 14 devices for use by Department staff in the period 2020 to 2022.

Pupils: Ethnic Groups

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to put in place safeguarding practices for Black, Asian and ethnic minority students at risk of racist abuse.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department can take to reprimand schools where safeguarding processes for students have been inadequate.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with Thomas Knyvett College in Ashford on safeguarding of Black, Asian and Ethnic minority students.

Nick Gibb: The safety and wellbeing of children is a priority for the Government. All schools and colleges have a legal duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils. Schools and colleges must have regard to the statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE). The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.The Department’s ‘Behaviour in Schools’ guidance, updated in July 2022, states that every school should ensure pupils can be taught in a calm, safe and supportive environment. The guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1101597/Behaviour_in_schools_guidance_sept_22.pdf. Schools should be clear which behaviours are permitted and prohibited, the values, attitudes, and beliefs they promote, and the social norms and routines that should be encouraged throughout the school community.All headteachers should ensure the school’s approach to behaviour meets the national minimum expectation that all members of the school community create a positive, safe environment in which bullying, physical threats or abuse and intimidation are not tolerated. This includes prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying. The school behaviour policy needs to ensure that any incidents of bullying, discrimination, aggression and derogatory language are dealt with quickly and effectively.Behaviour policies should also set out what the school will do in response to non-criminal poor behaviour and bullying that occurs off the school premises, and which is witnessed by a staff member or reported to the school, including the sanctions that will be imposed on pupils.Where concerns regarding the safeguarding arrangements in an academy are identified, the Department will work closely with the relevant academy trust to ensure statutory requirements are being met.A trust’s obligations for ensuring the welfare and health and safety of pupils attending an academy are set out in Part 3 of The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. Part 4 of the regulations sets out the requirements for ensuring the suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors. The regulations are available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283/made.The regulations set out several policies which trusts must ensure are in place and require the policies to be effectively implemented. Trusts are to have regard to guidance issued by the Department, specifically KCSIE and Working together to safeguard children.Where serious weaknesses in trust governance or non-compliance are found, the Department can take formal intervention action against trusts through a Notice to Improve, as set out in the Academy Trust Handbook, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60c8d0318fa8f57ce8c4621e/Academy_trust_handbook_2021.pdf.The recent violent incident in the vicinity of Thomas Knyvett College was abhorrent. The Department has been in regular contact with the CEO of the Howard Partnership Trust. This is an ongoing police investigation, and the Trust is following their advice.

Schools: Ilford North

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Ilford North constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The data is still being prepared and it will be published as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for SRP:Parliamentary constituency Schools selected for SRPIlford NorthJohn Bramston Primary School, announced December 2022The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Schools: Inspections

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools have not received a graded inspection judgement above three by Ofsted since 2010.

Nick Gibb: ​​This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ministry of Justice

Members: Correspondence

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he will respond to the correspondence of 6 September 2022 from the hon. Member for Stockport, reference NM16669.

Damian Hinds: The Ministry of Justice responded to the letter on 23 February 2023. We take the handling of correspondence seriously and in this instance, due to an administrative error, there was an unacceptable delay in responding. As outlined in our response, we apologise for the delay in responding.

Judges: Pensions

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017 and (b) the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 are in scope of Clause 1 of the Retained EU Law Bill through being made or operated immediately before the implementation period completion day, for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2)(a) of the European Communities Act (implementation of EU obligations etc).

Mike Freer: The Secretary of State for Justice is presently considering implications of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill for the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017 and the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, and the options available to him. In that context, the Secretary of State is mindful of the historic pension entitlements of fee-paid judges.For service after 31 March 2022, fee-paid judges have accrued pension entitlements in the new JPS22 Pension Scheme which is unaffected by the Bill.

Magistrates: Females

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many presiding justices in the magistrates’ court are (a) women, (b) women from a Black, Asian or minority background, (c) LGBT+ women and (d) women below 40.

Mike Freer: MoJ currently publishes data on magistrates’ age, ethnicity and gender as part of the Judicial Diversity Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics.Prior to January 2021, MoJ did not collect data on sexual orientation from magistrates, or as part of the magistrates recruitment process. In January 2021, MoJ launched a new Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which collects much wider diversity data, including sexual orientation, on new magistrates via the application form in which the diversity questions are mandatory (with a “prefer not to say” option).As of 21 February 2023, there are 2302 female presiding justices in the magistrates’ courts, 13 of which are aged below 40. Only experienced magistrates are eligible to apply to become presiding justices; having completed a minimum sitting period of four years, been deemed competent at two appraisals, and completed the required training.We are unable to provide data on these presiding justices’ ethnicity at this time, due to the amount of time and resource required to produce the figures requested.

Magistrates Courts: Females

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many legal advisors in the magistrates’ court are (a) women (b) women from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background (c) LGBT+ women and (d) women below 40.

Mike Freer: HMCTS employs 1,184 legal advisers. Legal advisers are frequently authorised by the judiciary to exercise the functions of a court or tribunal across many jurisdictions including the magistrates’ courts. It is not therefore possible to provide this information.

Magistrates: Females

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the prevalence of barriers to progression to leadership roles for women within the magistracy.

Mike Freer: The Lord Chancellor is committed to improving diversity in the judiciary including the magistracy. As part of the Magistrates Recruitment and Attraction Programme, the Government has invested over £1 million to support the recruitment of new and diverse magistrates, the Government’s top priority for the magistracy.In order to maintain judicial independence, the Lord Chief Justice and the Senior Presiding Justice have responsibility for leadership within the magistracy.

Magistrates: Females

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of magistrates sitting in (a) family courts, (b) youth courts and (c) adult magistrates courts are women.

Mike Freer: MoJ currently publishes data annually on magistrates’ age, ethnicity and gender as part of the Judicial Diversity Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics. As of 1 April 2022, 57% of the magistracy in England and Wales were women. This is a 5 percentage point increase from 2014.The Government has invested over £1 million to support the recruitment of new and diverse magistrates, the Government’s top priority for the magistracy.As of 21 February 2023, 68% of family court magistrates, 59% of youth court magistrates, and 63% of adult court magistrates were women.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: CCTV

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies utilise Chinese-manufactured CCTV systems.

David Rutley: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not UK Government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.

Syria: White Helmets

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding his Department or its predecessors have provided for the Syrian Civil Defence (White Helmets) in each of the last 10 financial years.

David Rutley: UK funding to the Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets) since their formation in 2014 totals £55.6 million. By financial year this support is:FY 2014-2015 £2,375,287FY 2015-2016 £12,171,537FY 2016-2017 £10,471,689FY 2017-2018 £13,401,000FY 2018-2019 £7,515,117FY 2019-2020 £1,936,856FY 2020-2021 £1,078,826FY 2021-2022 £2,280,544In the current Financial Year, 2022-2023, the UK is providing £2.5 million of support to the White Helmets. Since the devastating impacts of the earthquake in Syria, the UK has released an additional £4.3 million to White Helmets to assist their vital search and rescue operation and recovery efforts. The UK is proud of our longstanding partnership with the White Helmets who consistently play a crucial role in supporting Syrian civilians in the most desperate circumstances.

Bangladesh: Health Services

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help deliver public owned health care in Bangladesh.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK's health programmes in Bangladesh aim to address the fundamental challenges in public healthcare provision. The FCDO's £84 million 'Better Health in Bangladesh Programme' provides financial and technical assistance to the Government of Bangladesh's national health sector programme. Our support helps empower women and girls through better sexual and reproductive health and rights, family planning, nutrition services and screening for cervical cancer. We also support the Government of Bangladesh to include health in the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) on Climate Change and tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We will maintain our strong partnership with Bangladesh's Ministry of Health and its departments to deliver our commitment on ending preventable deaths, through need-based and responsive technical assistance support.

Bangladesh: Development Aid

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent support his Department has provided to the Bangladeshi Government in the context of (a) climate change, (b) air pollution and (c) flooding affecting that country.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: A core UK priority is to support Bangladesh, as one of the world's most climate vulnerable countries. At COP26, we announced a six year £120 million Climate and Environment Programme in Bangladesh to support Bangladesh's ambitions to accelerate adaption and expand renewable energy. The programme will increase access to climate finance and support improvements in pollution reduction and solid waste management. The UK has supported public awareness raising on air pollution levels and piloted approaches to improved management of hazardous waste. The UK provided over £1.6 million of humanitarian support for the floods in Bangladesh in May and June last year. This funding will provide water, shelter, livelihoods opportunities and improved nutrition for people affected in Sylhet.

China: Politics and Government

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle Chinese aggression.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests and a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism. We are committed to improving our resilience, particularly our economic security which is why we created new powers under the National Security and Investment Act. Together with allies and partners we will manage the sharpening competition from China including through diplomacy and engagement.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK is taking steps to increase humanitarian support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department is taking to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK is committed to supporting the Government of Bangladesh with the Rohingya response and has contributed £345 million to the crisis since 2017. Although our Official Development Assistance (ODA) bilateral funding has reduced, due to the fiscal situation, the UK remains committed to working with the UN and the Government of Bangladesh to provide support to the Rohingya whilst they remain in Bangladesh.Our support continues to provide food, water, sanitation, shelter, healthcare and protection services to Rohingya refugees and vulnerable host communities. We work closely with UN agencies and the Government of Bangladesh to provide basic services to Rohingya who have sought refuge in Bangladesh.

Farooq Ali

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on the release of the police report into the death of Farook Ali.

Leo Docherty: British High Commission (BHC) staff in Islamabad, including the High Commissioner and Deputy High Commissioner, have met with and written repeatedly to the Pakistani police, including the Inspector General, to register their interest in the Farooq Ali case and to request a thorough and transparent investigation. The High Commissioner has raised the case with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and through her the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. Consular officials have raised the delays to the final police report and will continue to press for it to be finalised.

Sri Lanka: Water

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Chunnakam power plant complex on the water supply in northern Sri Lanka; and whether he has taken recent steps with his international counterparts to help (a) support the health of citizens affected by water contamination, (b) improve accessibility to clean water for citizens in Sri Lanka and (c) tackle the environmental impact of the water pollution.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK has raised the issue of water contamination caused by the Chunnakam Power plant with the Government of Sri Lanka on numerous occasions. A number of public bodies in Sri Lanka have conducted tests and compensation has been offered to those affected. The then Minister responsible for Sri Lanka, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised this issue with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the UK in December 2020. Lord Ahmad also made pollution and environment protection a key theme of his visit to Sri Lanka in January 2022, following the X-Press Pearl container ship disaster response.

Seas and Oceans: Treaties

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will take steps to conclude a legally-binding mechanism for the designation of Marine Protected Areas on the high seas as part of a global high seas treaty ahead of the upcoming fifth session of the intergovernmental conference on marine biodiversity.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Negotiations in the Intergovernmental Conference to negotiate a new Implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) resumed at the UN on 20 February. The UK strongly supports the conclusion of an ambitious agreement at these negotiations and is working hard with international partners to achieve that outcome, which will include a mechanism for establishing Marine Protected Areas in the high seas. Negotiations conclude on 3 March.

Central African Republic: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the ban on all operation of drones in the Central African Republic other than those operated by that country’s security forces on the (a) efficacy, (b) safety and (c) capacity for effective human rights monitoring of UN MINUSCA.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Alongside our partners in the international community, the UK is currently monitoring the Government of the Central African Republic's decision to ban the use of all drones, including surveillance drones used by the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA). We will continue to monitor and report on human rights violations and abuses committed by all parties contributing to the conflict.

Mali: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact on the (a) UN Charter, (b) viability of UN MINUSMA and (c) credibility and comprehensiveness of future reports into human rights abuses in Mali of the expulsion of Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali by the authorities in Mali.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Following the expulsion of Guillaume Ngefa, Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali's (MINUSMA) Human Rights Division, Lord Ahmad, Minister of State responsible for the UN and Human Rights, urged the Malian authorities to cooperate, making clear that human rights are fundamental to long-term stability and accountable governance. We are in close touch with MINUSMA's leadership on the investigation and reporting of human rights allegations, including how the mission will continue to carry out its mandated human rights tasks following the expulsion of M. Ngefa. In January this year the UN Secretary-General issued a report on MINUSMA that sets out four parameters for MINUSMA to effectively deliver on its mandate. One of these is the ability to implement the entirety of the mandate including human rights provisions. At the UN Security Council in January the UK called for concrete progress against the parameters, including greater access for the mission to investigate human rights allegations.

Nigeria: Elections

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote free and fair elections in Nigeria.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The 2023 presidential and legislative elections will be a significant test of Nigeria's democracy. We are supporting Nigeria to deliver free, fair and credible elections through our diplomatic engagement, technical advice, programmes and election observation. I [Minister Mitchell] have discussed the importance of free, fair and safe elections in my recent engagements with Nigerian presidential candidates and the chairperson of the Nigerian electoral commission. The UK Government will continue to raise the importance of all political parties working together to ensure the success of these elections.

Ethiopia: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of reports that Ethiopia allegedly used Iranian-made armed drones in the Tigray War.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We advocate for responsible arms exports which comply with international obligations, including International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. The US have set out that Iran supplied Mohajer-6 drones to Ethiopia in 2021. If so and in the absence of approval by the UN Security Council, such transfers by Iran violate UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Kenya: Development Aid

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's Overseas Development Aid budget was for Kenya in each of the last 15 years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The official source of data on UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) is Statistics on International Development (SID).Table 1 below provides the volume of country-specific UK bilateral ODA provided for the benefit of Kenya from 2009 - 2021 (the latest year for which data is published). The UK also spends ODA in the form of unearmarked contributions to multilateral organisations and there is also bilateral spend to programmes which benefit multiple countries/regions. Some of this may benefit Kenya but it is not possible to provide a specific breakdown for Kenya.Table 1: Volume of UK bilateral ODA provided for the benefit of Kenya (2009-2021)YearTotal UK Bilateral ODA (£ thousand)200984,026201068,136201188,5932012101,6562013159,4052014134,8502015155,5752016133,8132017152,8072018116,1232019134,334202091,958202171,993Source: Statistics for International Development https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects to announce dates for nuclear test veterans to receive the medals and clasps in recognition of their service; and what steps his Department is taking to make available to interested parties the findings of medical tests carried out on participants in the nuclear testing programme.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Government continues to recognise and be grateful to all Service personnel who participated in the British Nuclear testing programme. They contributed to keeping our nation secure during the Cold War and since, by ensuring that the UK was equipped with an appropriate nuclear capability.   I am pleased that a forthcoming commemorative Nuclear Test Medal was announced by the Prime Minister in November 2022, which is intended to recognise Service veterans and civilians who participated in the UK’s nuclear tests between 1952 and 1967. The first Nuclear Test Medals are expected to be available in summer 2023. Details on the eligibility criteria for the Medal, together with information on the application process, will be announced by the end of March 2023. There is a long-established process to design, procure and produce a new Medal and collectively this process takes some months.In relation to medical test results, an individual can make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the relevant military service, Veterans UK or the Atomic Weapons Establishment to have sight of what records are held on them. Information is provided on request to individuals, or representatives acting on their behalf, under ‘General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Chapter 3, Article 15 – Right of access’.

Defence Equipment: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement on Ukraine: Update on 16 January 2023, Official Report, column 40, how he calculated that his Department will invest £41 billion in Army equipment and support over the next 10 years.

Alex Chalk: The breakdown of the Department’s planned investment in the Army over the next ten years is set out on page 29 of the published Defence Equipment Plan 2022 to 2032.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2023 to Question 118824 on Armed Forces: Housing, whether he is asking Regional Accommodation Maintenance Service contractors for the (a) Northern and Central and (b) Southwest and Southeast regions to regularly record the number of damp and mould reports.

Alex Chalk: Regional Accommodation Maintenance Service suppliers across all four regions in the UK are recording the number of reported damp and mould cases in Service Family Accommodation, and actions required to remediate.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 67846 on Amey, how many of the 13,910 Service Family Accommodation properties with open work orders for repairs were (a) resolved and (b) still open as of 20 February 2023.

Alex Chalk: The answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 67846, which related only to Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties maintained by Amey, referred to 13,910 SFA properties. However, the 13,910 figure has now been confirmed as relating to the number of open work orders, not the number of SFA with open work orders. For clarity as at the 13 October 2022 Amey had 13,910 open work orders of which 13,807 have now been resolved. 103 of these work orders remain open as at 20 February 2023.

Ukraine: Military Aircraft

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of taking steps to transfer UK fighter jets to Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence is investigating what support we might be able to give on the provision of combat aircraft to Ukraine and the potential wider implications of providing such support. That work is ongoing and will focus on the long-term defence and security needs of Ukraine.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2023 to Question 119910 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many urgent repairs were completed at Service Family Accommodation properties in (a) January and (b) February 2023 by (i) VIVO and (ii) Amey.

Alex Chalk: The total number of completed urgent repairs at Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in January and February to date by VIVO and Amey, can be found in the table below.  MonthVIVO – total completed in monthAmey – total completed in monthJanuary 20234,2152,1261 - 20 February 20232,2991,083

Ministry of Defence: CCTV

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies utilise Chinese-manufactured CCTV systems.

James Heappey: We take the security of our personnel, systems and establishments very seriously and have a range of measures in place to ensure the integrity of our arrangements. These measures are kept under constant review and adjusted according to the threat. It is, however, long standing policy that we do not comment on the detail of those arrangements.

Army

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Army will have a warfighting division of 10,000 troops.

James Heappey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 127277 on 25 February 2022 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey). The British Army already has a warfighting Division, the 3rd (UK) Division, which has in excess of 10,000 troopsArmy (docx, 18.1KB)

77th Brigade

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the British Army’s 77th Brigade has collected information on (a) sitting Members, (b) former Members, (c) political activists and (d) political organisations since the Unit's formation.

James Heappey: The British Army's 77th Brigade deliver information activities as part of broader military effects against hostile state actors and violent extremist organisations based outside the UK.77th Brigade have never collected information on any of the referenced groups mentioned by the hon. Member.

Army

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the order of battle is of the 7th Infantry Brigade.

James Heappey: The current structure of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team can be found at the table below: 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat TeamThe Royal Scots Dragoon Guards1st Battalion, the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment4th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland1st Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment2nd Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment1st Battalion, the Rifles4th Regiment, Royal Artillery105 Regiment, Royal Artillery32 Regiment, Royal Engineers1 Close Support Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers6 Regiment, the Royal Logistic Corps5 Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps The Army is currently reshaping its structures under Future Soldier plans. This means that some details will change as Future Soldier continues to be developed and implemented. The future structure of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team can be found on page 39 of the Future Soldier Guide: https://www.army.mod.uk/media/15057/adr010310-futuresoldierguide_30nov.pdf.

Army

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what he expects to be the duration of Operation Mobilise.

James Heappey: Operation Mobilise is an acceleration of the most important parts of the 'Future Soldier' modernisation plan that was set out in 2021. It is also an articulation of the Army's bold ambition for the NATO New Force Model, an increased focus on readiness and combined arms training and a broader institutional renewal that creates the culture required to win when called upon. This work is ongoing and will continue until the Chief of the General Staff considers that the core aims have been delivered.

Espionage: Airspace

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to counter the potential threat from surveillance balloons over (a) the UK and (b) UK military bases.

James Heappey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Deane to Questions 140020 and 140021 on 14 February 2023.Airspace Defence (docx, 18.8KB)

Turkey: Earthquakes

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has provided support to the Turkish Government following the recent earthquake in that country.

James Heappey: At the request of the Turkish Government, and in support of the FCDO's humanitarian response, the MOD has deployed a military medical facility for urgent and more routine care and C130 emergency air ambulance capability to Turkey. The MOD has also transported the FCDO medical treatment facility to Turkey, collocated with the military medical facility, as well as humanitarian and medical supplies. In addition to this, at the request of NATO, the MOD transported the NATO Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team and their equipment to Turkey.

HMS Prince of Wales: Repairs and Maintenance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the report of the investigation into the cause of the recent problems with the propulsion system on the HMS Prince of Wales.

Alex Chalk: Investigations into the defects with HMS PRINCE OF WALES shafts are ongoing. Once these are concluded, Ministers intend to provide an update on the outcome of the investigation.

Ajax Lessons Learned Review

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when will he publish the Clive Sheldon Ajax Lessons Learned Review.

Alex Chalk: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I provided to Question 133579 on 2 February 2023. Ajax Lessons Learned Review (docx, 17.8KB)

Ajax Vehicles: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to resume payments to General Dynamics Land Systems UK as part of the Armoured Cavalry Programme.

Alex Chalk: Payments to General Dynamics Land Systems UK against the main Ajax contract have not resumed. Under the firm price contract no payments have been made since December 2020. Future payments remain under review as the programme continues its positive trajectory.

Ukraine: Defence Equipment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s announcement of 15 February on the first package of funding  through the International Fund for Ukraine, if he will publish details of the equipment package Ukraine is due to receive.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s announcement of 15 February on the first package of funding awarded through the International Fund for Ukraine, how many bids were (a) received from and (b) approved for UK companies.

Alex Chalk: The first package of support to be funded through International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) is valued at over £200 million. It will include capabilities such as artillery ammunition, maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and spares (including for Ukraine's current fleet of main battle tanks). It is not possible to provide further detail at this stage, due to ongoing commercial negotiations.

Department for Work and Pensions

Cost of Living: Government Assistance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce alternative support with the cost of living for people on low incomes who are not eligible for the cost-of-living payment as a result of fluctuating income.

Mims Davies: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help. We have decided to deliver the £900 cost of living payment for eligible means-tested benefit claimants in three separate payments over 2023/24 to reduce the chance of households missing out altogether. The first payment of £301 will be made from spring 2023, the second payment of £300 from autumn 2023 and the third payment of £299 from spring 2024. The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The guidance for Local Authorities for this next iteration has now been published and can be found here: 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This sets out that the fund should be used to support households in the most need, particularly those who are not eligible for other cost of living support such as Cost of Living Payments. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion. In 2023/24, subject to parliamentary approval, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, in order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount. To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW. The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, paid over six months starting in October 2022.  Further to this, the Energy Price Guarantee will be extended from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, meaning a typical household bill will be around £3,000 per year in Great Britain.

Universal Credit: EU Nationals

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to lift the stay of decisions on Universal Credit claims by EU citizens with pre-settled status who notify his Department that they are not able to meet their basic needs as a result of that stay.

Guy Opperman: Where an appeal is pending in a lead test case, as there is in relation to EU citizens with pre-settled status in scope of SSWP v AT (AIRE Centre and IMA Intervening) [2022] UKUT 330 (AAC), then under Section 25 of the Social Security Act 1998, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has the power to stay making decisions on any lookalike claims. A stay may be lifted where there is application on hardship grounds. Each application is considered on its merits. We are not staying any cases where a right to reside has been identified for those with pre-settled status, and in such cases, the grant of UC should follow subject to the usual eligibility criteria being met.

Work Capability Assessment: Complaints

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints about Work Capability Assessments were upheld by her Department's complaints team in each month since January 2018.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints were made to the DWP Complaints Team regarding the way in which Work Capability Assessments were conducted in each month since January 2018.

Tom Pursglove: The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) conduct Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) on behalf of the Department for Work & Pensions and has their own complaints process. Complaints received by the department, which are solely about the WCA, are redirected to CHDA. For a more in-depth response, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to her previous question, PQ55085.

Asbestos: Regulation

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill on the (a) ban on the use of asbestos in the UK and (b) Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

Mims Davies: With the introduction of the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) remains focused on ensuring that regulatory frameworks maintain the United Kingdom’s high standards of health and safety protection and continue to reduce burdens for business. In Great Britain, the legislation which controls asbestos exposure risks in workplaces are the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR). These regulations are owned by the Health and Safety Executive. Under these regulations HSE requires dutyholders to assess whether asbestos is present in their buildings, what condition it’s in and whether it gives rise to a risk of exposure. The duty-holder must then draw up a plan to manage the risk associated with asbestos which, importantly, must include removal of the asbestos if it cannot be safely managed where it remains in place. In addition to this, dutyholders are legally required to remove asbestos containing materials before major refurbishment or demolition work can occur. Great Britain’s (GB) asbestos legacy remains a key issue and continuing to improve and build on the evidence base around safe management and disposal of asbestos is fundamental. However, concerns remain that moving to a fixed deadline for removal would increase the opportunity for exposure. This is difficult to support where the current risk of exposure is very low and asbestos can be managed safely in situ until planned refurbishment works. Our standards of health and safety protections are among the highest in the world. HSE will continue to review its retained EU Law to seek opportunities to reduce business burdens and promote growth whilst maintaining the United Kingdom’s high standards of health and safety.

UK Commission on Bereavement

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the UK Commission on Bereavement entitled Bereavement is everyone's business, published in October 2022, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the (a) finding on the proportion of adult respondents who had difficulties with at least one practical or administrative task following bereavement and (b) recommendation on extending the Tell Us Once service.

Mims Davies: The Government established a cross-Government bereavement working group that includes representatives from over ten Government departments. This group is the vehicle by which we are working to ensure how the findings of the UKCB’s report can inform Government policy in the future. We are continuing our dialogue with the Commission Steering Group and are committed to working with the voluntary sector.

Universal Credit: Carer's Allowance

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department takes to reinstate full Universal Credit payments when an individual who had been in receipt of both Universal Credit and Carer's Allowance loses eligibility for Carer's Allowance.

Guy Opperman: When eligibility of Carers Allowance ends and the award is closed, the UC award will be adjusted.

Social Security Benefits

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the review of the Benefit Cap carried out under S96A of the Welfare Reform Act 2012.

Guy Opperman: The Secretary of State’s decision was set out in both the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022 and the Written Ministerial Statement following a statutory review of the benefit cap levels. Following the review, affirmative regulations are required to amend the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and consequential amendments made to the Housing Benefit Regulations and the Universal Credit Regulations. The changes are grouped together in a single statutory instrument, which was laid before Parliament and is currently undergoing Parliamentary approval.

Pension Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish updated estimates of Pension Credit take-up.

Laura Trott: In March we will publish the Family Resources Survey for 2021/22. Following this, work will begin to assess whether the data can produce new take-up estimates. In line with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Statistics I will provide an update at this stage.

Carers Allowance

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason carers allowance for unpaid carers is treated as an income for benefits purposes.

Tom Pursglove: This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society, including pensioners and those with disabilities. The principle that available income normally reduces entitlement to means-tested benefits is long established under successive Governments. Means-tested benefits essentially “top-up” other income. Means-tested benefits contain additional amounts for unpaid carers, worth around £2,000 a year, which recognise the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring and mean that those with caring responsibilities on low incomes can receive more than other claimants.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Event Duration Monitors have been installed on storm overflows in each year since 2010; and how many of those monitors have been installed on storm overflows that stopped working in each year since 2010.

Rebecca Pow: 201020152018201920202021% of overflows with EDM7%10%43%57%84%88% In 2021 we had 88% coverage of storm overflows with event duration monitors (EDMs), and we will have complete coverage by the end of this year. In 2021, only 2% of all installed EDMs failed to return data. Event Duration Monitoring has not stopped at any sites. There may be times where an individual monitor may go offline, but every step must be taken by water companies to ensure monitors get back online as soon as possible.

Local Adaptation Advisory Panel

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last met the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel for England Steering Group.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last met with the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel for England Steering Group.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last met the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel for England Steering Group.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last met with the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel for England Steering Group.

Trudy Harrison: The Local Adaptation Advisory Panel is an official-level forum in which Defra senior and working-level officials are actively engaged. Defra Ministers do not participate in the group.

Environment Protection: Finance

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding to local authorities for meeting targets set out in the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding provided to local authorities for meeting the targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding provided to local authorities for meeting the targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding provided to local authorities for meeting the targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding to local authorities on achieving targets set out in the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan.

Trudy Harrison: The delivery of the Environment Act 2021 statutory targets does not place a specific burden on local authorities but will require a shared endeavour from government, local authorities, business and the individual decisions we all make. Through the Environment Act 2021 we have ensured a robust legal framework to hold current and future governments to account, protecting nature for generations to come. We continue to engage with local authorities on specific targets and to assess any support they need in their delivery.

Floods: Greater London

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has published guidance to homes at risk of flooding in London.

Rebecca Pow: Following the Surface Water Flooding in London in summer 2021 it was recognised that basements in London are particularly vulnerable to surface water flooding impacts. The Environment Agency supported the Greater London Authority to provide extra information on flood risk and flood preparedness to people living in basement properties. A leaflet was produced and delivered to 40,000 basement properties in London. The Environment Agency also contributed to London Flood Awareness week in November 2021: London Flood Awareness Week 2021 | London City Hall. The Environment Agency recommend residents check their flood risk: Check for flooding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Homes at risk of flooding are urged to sign up to Flood Warnings: What to do in a flood - Check for flooding - GOV.UK (check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk) and weather alerts: UK weather warnings - Met Office.

Forests

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce deforestation.

Trudy Harrison: The UK Government is committed to a package of measures to tackle deforestation both in the UK and abroad.In England, when a felling licence is issued, there is a presumption to replant after tree felling. The Forestry Commission also has an enforcement capability under the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended) to combat unlicensed and illegal felling, with additional measures in the Environment Act 2021 that commenced on 1 January 2023 enhancing these enforcement tools.The UK Timber Regulations aim to tackle illegal logging internationally and to create a demand for legally harvested timber. Illegal logging is a major global driver of deforestation, leading to loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity, and contributing to climate change. It also affects rural communities that rely on forests for livelihoods, and results in revenue loss to Government and legitimate business. The UK Timber Regulations prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the market and requires operators, those first placing such products on the market, to exercise due diligence on their supply chains.The UK Government has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to help tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. In 2021-22 we ran a consultation to seek views on how we should implement Environment Act provisions, including which commodities we should regulate through the first round of secondary legislation, and have since published a summary of responses, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-illegal-deforestation-in-uk-supply-chains.The UK is also tackling deforestation through International Climate Finance (ICF), which the Government has committed to double to £11.6 billion from 2021/22 to 2025/26, spending at least £3 billion of this on climate change solutions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity. Through the ICF, we support a range of sustainable agriculture programmes that aim to reduce deforestation and land degradation caused by conversion of land to agriculture whilst improving the sustainability and resilience of food systems.

Plastics: Water

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the amount of plastic entering (a) water courses and (b) the sea.

Rebecca Pow: The UK is proud to have supported the proposal by Rwanda and Peru that led to the ambitious resolution to start negotiating a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution being agreed at the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022. The UK is a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, a coalition of like-minded Governments that are committed to a common ambition to end plastic pollution by 2040, underpinned by strategic goals and deliverables. To do this, we will introduce additional single-use plastic item bans, extended producer responsibility, and deposit return schemes for plastic packaging and improve consistency in recycling. Through the UK’s Blue Planet Fund, we are also working bilaterally with partner countries to strengthen policies and regulations needed to eradicate plastic pollution and mismanaged waste.

Office for Environmental Protection

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last had discussions with the Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection.

Trudy Harrison: The Secretary of State last met with the Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection on 2nd February 2023. They discussed the recently-published Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), as well as the OEP’s EIP progress report.

Packaging: Recycling

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with industry stakeholders on the level of Government support that will be required for the implementation of the packaging extended producer responsibility scheme.

Rebecca Pow: Key stakeholders from industry have been involved throughout the policy development process, through forums such as the Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP), Defra’s Packaging and Collections Working Group and the Industry Sounding Board. We held an initial consultation on the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging in 2019 and a second consultation in 2021. We have recently embarked on a series of visioning sprints to provide an opportunity for industry and UK Government officials to work together to propose a shared vision and develop a strategic roadmap for the delivery of our packaging and waste reforms. We are also running fortnightly Business Readiness Forums, to ensure we capture feedback and continue to relay key information to businesses across the packaging chain. A number of deep dive sessions on specific topics have also been arranged and we will continue to offer new sessions throughout 2023 to ensure business readiness.

Packaging: Recycling

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the potential impact of the proposed packaging extended producer responsibility scheme on business costs.

Rebecca Pow: An impact assessment, setting out the costs and benefits of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, was published in March 2022 alongside the Government response to our 2021 consultation. This estimates the net cost to business of these reforms at £1206.8 million per year. An updated impact assessment will be published later this year alongside the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2023.

Water Treatment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recycling effluent water into drinking water.

Rebecca Pow: All water recycling option considered by water companies in their draft statutory Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs) must meet the environmental requirements for wastewater treatment discharges into the environment. Water re-abstracted from the environment for public water supply must also be treated to meet our high drinking water standards before use, in accordance with a robust risk assessment. Water regulators will be responding to the consultations on the draft WRMPs. The draft plans are then referred to the Secretary of State for decisions on whether they can be finalised. Recent research carried out for the Drinking Water Inspectorate indicated a high level of support (79% agreement) for the use of water recycling to supplement drinking water supplies.[1] [1] https://www.dwi.gov.uk/publication-of-research-report-public-perception-of-water-recycling-for-drinking-water-use/

Packaging: Recycling

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to publish a plan to transition to the packaging extended producer responsibility scheme; and whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to mandate the scheme in law.

Rebecca Pow: The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2023 were debated in the House of Commons on 2 February 2023 and are due to come into force on the 28 February 2023. Similar regulations will be introduced in parallel in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. These regulations will require producers to collect and report data on the packaging they supply. We are not planning to publish a transition plan at this stage, but we have published guidance and an obligation checker to help obligated producers to prepare for pEPR on the gov.uk website, including outlining the data producers will need to start collecting from March and report from October 2023. This guidance will be continually updated with more detailed information. My Department’s intention is that the regulations to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) will be introduced at the end of 2023. These regulations will reflect the policy set out in the Government response to the 2021 consultation, which was published in March 2022.

Floods: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to inform homes at high risk of flooding in Solihull of (a) that risk and (b) potential steps to mitigate against it.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency provides a free flood warning service throughout England and Wales in areas at risk of flooding from rivers. In the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) area, 287 residential properties are eligible to benefit from the service. Of these, 132 are signed up.The Environment Agency are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for flooding from Main Rivers. SMBC are the Lead Local Flood Authority and RMA for surface water flooding. SMBC have been working with the Environment Agency on developing ongoing Property Flood Resilience (PFR) schemes in the wider Council area to reduce the risk from surface water flooding. and taking opportunities to raise awareness of flood risk and the Flood Warning Service.Several areas in the wider Solihull area were awarded both Grant in Aid and Local Levy funding in early 2022 to install PFR measures. Solihull has had an excellent level of signup level for property flood resilience measures across the PFR schemes.

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any organisations completed air quality modelling to help inform the air quality targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any organisations completed air quality modelling to help inform the air quality targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any organisations completed air quality modelling to help inform the air quality targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.

Rebecca Pow: Both the interim and long term targets published within the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 were informed by extensive modelling undertaken by internationally recognised experts. The modelling to inform the long term PM2.5 targets is set out on the UK Air website.

Disease Control: Import Controls

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will publish (a) details of the biosecurity controls which the Government implements on high-risk imports, and (b) a list of the goods to which these controls apply.

Mark Spencer: Biosecurity remains a top priority for the Government, not only to protect consumers, but also to ensure that trading partners and industry have strong assurance of the UK’s standards of food safety. The Target Operating Model (TOM), to be published later this year, will set out how GB’s new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regime for imports will operate in full. We have already implemented some controls on the highest risk goods entering from countries other than the EU, for example plants for planting and live animals, which must have health certificates, and which are subject to inspection. In addition, all regulated SPS goods must be electronically pre-notified before arrival into GB. We still operate the same import health controls on non-EU goods entering GB that applied whilst we were in the EU, except for certain fruit like citrus and mangoes which are not produced in GB, and which present a negligible pest/disease risk. Full details of current import controls and the commodities to which they apply are published on GOV.UK.

Water Supply: North West

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make an estimate of the amount invested in maintenance work by United Utilities in the water network in the North West in each of the last two financial years.

Rebecca Pow: Our Strategic Policy Statement set out our expectation for water companies to have good asset management to support the resilience of their services. Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, sets the investment, service and performance targets for water companies through the five yearly price review process. The current price review period (2020-25) set out a £51 billion investment package for the 2020-2025 period, which includes funding for maintenance. The Government does not assess companies’ expenditure for individual aspects of their work. However, Ofwat reports annually on water companies performance against key performance and expenditure metrics set during the price review, the most recent report was published in December 2022 - Water company performance report 2021-2022. There are several performance commitments for water companies that provide an indication of asset health, including leakage, mains repair, unplanned outage, sewer collapse and supply interruption. Companies are required to published annually progress on the commitments set during the price review, details on United Utilities’ Annual Performance Reports can be found here; United Utilities - Performance. Companies published their Annual Reports and Accounts, United Utilities are available on their website - United Utilities - Annual report and accounts.

Home Office

Theft: Crime Prevention

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the theft of phones and bags in public spaces.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the significant impact invasive crimes such as theft can have on individuals and the wider community. That is why we established the Safer Streets Fund to help prevent these crimes from happening. The Safer Streets Fund provides funding for crime prevention measures such as increased streetlighting and CCTV in high crime areas.In December 2022, the National Police Chiefs Council Personal Robbery portfolio co-ordinated Operation Calibre, a national week of action across police forces in England and Wales aimed at reducing robbery of mobile phones. Action included targeted activity and crime prevention advice in high footfall areas; school and youth engagement; diversionary visits to offenders; and development of intelligence. Data from ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for the year ending March 2020 (the latest year for which data is available) estimated that there were 325,000 victims of mobile phone thefts. These data can be found in the year ending March 2020 Property Crime Tables published here: Property crime tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) The Ministry of Justice is responsible for prosecutions data. The latest data are published here: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The data cannot be broken down to identify offences of mobile phone theft.

Fenethylline: Smuggling

Tom Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of reports of increased attempts by Syrian and Iranian-linked groups to traffic CaptagonintoEurope.

Chris Philp: The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the malign Syrian Asad regime and its co-conspirators, principally Hezbollah and other Iranian militias.The UK is stepping up its efforts to work with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example in an intervention at the UN Security Council on 25 January) to ensure accountability.HMG regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is little/no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of Captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end. This includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to the email dated 19 December 2022 to the Minister for Immigration from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton on Marina Miri.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office contacted the hon. Member on 22 February 2023.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to the urgent queries email of 21 December 2022 from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton on Nooraldeen Hamid Idirs.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office replied on 22 February 2023.

Antisocial Behaviour: Mediation

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's statutory guidance entitled Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act: anti-social behaviour, updated in December 2022, what account she has taken of the potential effectiveness of mediation in assessing the use of powers to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Chris Philp: We provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the ‘2014 Act’).The statutory guidance makes clear on pages 27-28 that mediation can be sought as an informal intervention prior to using the powers and tools. It is also referenced throughout the guidance.

Anti-corruption Champion

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what steps she has taken to appoint an anti-corruption champion; and when an anti-corruption champion will be appointed.

Tom Tugendhat: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 25 January 2023, Official Report, PQ 126744.

Police: Counter-terrorism

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the police integrate effective surveillance measures into (a) road blocks and (b) other counter-terrorism measures.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government is committed to supporting our superb police, security and intelligence agencies, who work round the clock to keep us safe. For security reasons, we do not comment on counter-terrorism (CT) capabilities or provide a breakdown of CT funding.CT policing funding will total over £1 billion in 2022-23. The money will support ongoing CT policing investigations and allow us to respond swiftly and decisively to terrorist incidents, no matter where they take place.

Visas: Standards

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria will be used to assess when to end the temporary suspension of the (a) priority and (b) super-priority services for new visitor visa applications

Robert Jenrick: There are currently no suspensions for priority and super priority visit visa services across the globe.UKVI will always seek to offer optional priority services where the security and logistical circumstances allow.

Visas: Afghanistan

Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to assist people from Afghanistan who (a) formally assisted UK armed forces and (b) have been cleared by the Ministry of Defence as qualifying for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme to complete the visa process necessary to enter the UK from (i) Afghanistan, (ii) a neighbouring country and (iii) a safe third country.

Robert Jenrick: Afghan citizens and their family members who are assessed as eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) are referred by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to the Home Office for permission to enter the UK subject to the enrolment of biometrics and security checks. Whilst there is currently no option to enrol biometrics in Afghanistan, we are working with the authorities in neighbouring countries and with international partners to carry out biometric enrolment in as efficient a manner as possible. Applications are assessed against the Immigration Rules by the Home Office with entry clearance issued to those who are eligible for relocation to the UK. This allows for flight and accommodation arrangements to be made. It is vital that those arriving have somewhere suitable to stay once they’re in the UK. We are working at pace with Local Authorities and other partners to source suitable accommodation.

Counter-terrorism: Crime Prevention

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to ensure that counter-terrorism surveillance helps support other forms of crime prevention.

Tom Tugendhat: Our law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies have access to a range of investigatory powers in order to be able to protect national security and to prevent and detect crime. The sharing of surveillance material between one public authority and another is permitted where necessary for action to be taken on it, and subject to robust safeguards.It is an operational matter for law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies to assess and determine both how to deploy their resources and the extent to which intelligence should be shared for other purposes.

Manston Asylum Processing Centre: Heating

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much is spent on weekly running costs for Manston Processing Centre, (a) in total and (b) for heating.

Robert Jenrick: The costs of operating the Manston Processing Centre sits across multiple commands and are attributed to a number of different budgets and funding streams. A costing exercise, commissioned in response to a similar request from the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC), is currently underway to capture this information. Once that exercise has been completed and the detail passed to HASC then this will be publicly available.

Home Office: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not report the information sought to the level of granularity required. To identify spending on recruitment consultants specifically from our management systems would require a manual review of all consultancy related transactions.This can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Road Traffic Offences: Driving Licences and Insurance

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February to Question 139153, whether it is a notifiable offence for an uninsured or unlicensed driver to cause serious injury by driving.

Chris Philp: ‘Causing death by driving whilst unlicenced or uninsured’ and ‘Causing serious injury by dangerous driving’ are notifiable offences but causing lesser injury by driving whilst unlicensed or uninsured are summary only offences.The Ministry of Justice publish prosecutions and convictions for causing injury by dangerous driving, but these are not able to distinguish between insured and uninsured or licensed and unlicensed drivers. These can be found in the outcomes by offence tool, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2022

Visas: Iran

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of applications for a visitor visa made by Iranian relatives of British citizens were rejected by her Department in the last 12 months for which data is available.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on Visitor visa applications, grants, and refusals for Iranian nationals are published in tables Vis_D01 and Vis_D02, respectively, of the ‘Entry clearance visa application and outcomes detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Visas: Overseas Visitors

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) applications for and (b) refusals of short-term visitor visas there were in each year since 2018.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) applications for and (b) refusals of short-term visitor visas there were from countries in Africa in each year since 2018.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on Visitor visa applications and refusals for African nationals are published in tables Vis_D01 and Vis_D02, respectively, of the ‘Entry clearance visa application and outcomes detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Biometric Residence Permits: ICT

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of IT failures in her Department on the processing times of UKVI applications since 1 August 2022.

Robert Jenrick: Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on all its main visa routes within customer service standards.Where an application may require technical intervention, and to ensure these are given the appropriate support, we have strengthened our processes and procedures in this area to proactively address technical issues as they are identified.

Visas: Families

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact on the processing time for applications of the decision to extend the standard processing time for family visa applications made outside the UK from 12 to 24 weeks.

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to return the processing time for family visa applications made outside the UK from 24 to 12 weeks

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office had been prioritising Ukraine Visa Schemes applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The bulk of resource has now returned to the route, along with an additional investment of new staff.We are keeping the service standard level under review. Information on family visa processing times for applications made outside of the UK can be found here: Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Information on family visa processing times for applications made inside of the UK can be found here: Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Visas: Families

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits reinstating the (a) priority and (b) super priority services for family visa applications

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact on the processing times for applications of the decision to suspend the (a) priority and (b) super-priority services for visa applications on the processing times for applications.

Robert Jenrick: From mid-March 2022, UKVI temporarily suspended Priority visa services for new family overseas visa applications, in order to temporarily deploy resource to process applications made in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine.On 09 January 2023, UKVI re-introduced Priority visa services for customers with an outstanding family overseas visa application.On 20 February 2023 UKVI re-introduced Priority visa services for customers with a new overseas family visa application. The Super Priority Visa service is not available for overseas Family visa applications. It was not available prior to the suspension of Priority Visa services.

Visas: Skilled Workers

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 141562 on Visas: Skilled Workers, if he will publish average processing times for visa applications from (a) outside and (b) inside the UK as of 20 February 2023.

Robert Jenrick: Skilled Worker visa decisions are being processed within normal service standards and current decision times can be viewed on GOV.UK at the following links:Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Bicycles: Theft

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the charge rate for theft of bicycles in England and Wales was in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.

Chris Philp: The Home Office works closely with the British Transport Police (BTP), the national lead for cycle theft, to tackle the theft of bicycles. BTP have recently launched the ‘double lock it’ campaign with police forces and organisations, providing advice to owners to help better protect their bicycles. Further information on the campaign and bicycle locks can be found here: https://www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/campaigns/double-lock-it/.The Department for Transport (DfT) published its Cycling and Walking Plan for England, Gear Change, in 2020, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england. The Plan aims to boost cycling and walking and sets out a number of initiatives to combat cycle theft DfT is leading including encouraging retailers to number the bicycles they sell and offer customers the opportunity to register their bicycle on a database at the point of sale.The BTP-led National Cycle Crime Group, working with DfT, have set up Cycle Crime Reduction Partnerships across the country to coordinate regional enforcement activity to disrupt organised cycle theft.The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on the number of bicycle theft offences reported to and recorded by the police in England and Wales and their investigative outcomes including charges, on a quarterly basis. These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables The number of police recorded bicycle theft offences for London and England are as follows.(Source: Home Office Police Recorded Crime)Year ending September 2022London19,374England70,873Bicycle theft figures from the Crime Survey of England and Wales in Mar 2010 compared to now, which are:Year to Mar 2010: 466,000Year to June 2022: 242,000Reduction of 48%

Asylum: Food

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the quantity of food provided to asylum seekers in temporary accommodation.

Robert Jenrick: Asylum seekers in contingency accommodation are provided breakfast, lunch and evening meals, with a choice of at least one hot and one cold selection, at least one vegetarian option with each main meal and a food service for babies and small children with the appropriate foodstuffs. Food is provided in a location easily accessible to all.  We continuously look at ways to improve our procedures to ensure we address concerns quickly and effectively, and one of the tools we use to achieve this is through our targeted  surveys. These are 100% anonymous and available 24/7 in a variety of languages. The Initial Accommodation (IA) survey in particular is aimed at all those who reside in all forms of contingency accommodation and seeks insight  on the fundamental aspects of the provision. This includes questions on the accommodation standards and suitability, food offering, information provided. The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration also conducted a thorough review of contingency accommodation. Their findings were published in May 2022 and the Home Office has accepted all of the recommendations made. The food service at hotels meets appropriate nutritional standards for each menu and satisfies cultural, religious, health or other specific requirements.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new social houses were built in 2022.

Rachel Maclean: Information on new affordable housing, broken down by tenure and new build/acquisition, can be easily found in Live Table 1009, here.

Housing: Construction

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring swift nesting bricks to be installed in newly built homes.

Rachel Maclean: We have always been clear that planning is a local matter and it is for each local planning authority to assess how it will deliver the Government's environmental goals, alongside our ambition to deliver the identified housing needs of their communities.As we have set out previously, we of course welcome action by individual developers who wish to provide swift bricks and the benefits are set out in our Planning Practice Guidance on the Natural Environment. Local authorities can prioritise specific species such as swifts.

Regeneration

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with representatives of local authorities on his Department's vision for redevelopment, including opportunities to redevelop sites in specific local authority areas.

Rachel Maclean: The department and Homes England continuously engage local authorities to support local leaders' ambitions to level up and deliver transformational regeneration.

Local Government: Housing and Planning

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the skills and capabilities of local authorities in carrying out their planning and housing functions; and if he will make it his policy to develop an Ofsted-style body to inspect local authorities' skills and capabilities in those areas.

Rachel Maclean: The Government has set out plans to establish an Office for Local Government, OfLog. Details will be announced in due course.

Land: Regeneration

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that local communities are consulted on the redevelopment of public land.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues on the level of communication required with local stakeholders by redevelopment projects.

Rachel Maclean: National Planning Policy sets out that early engagement has significant potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning application system for all parties. Good quality pre-application discussion enables better coordination between public and private resources and improved outcomes for the community.There are powers in Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which allow Secretary of State to require mandatory pre-application consultation by prospective applicants with communities and specified persons as prescribed by secondary legislation, although these expire on 15 December 2025. Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, we are making these powers permanent.

Land: Regeneration

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on (a) land disposals and (b) opportunities for redevelopment on disposal sites.

Rachel Maclean: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Estate Agents

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if she will take steps to modify the Estate Agents Act 1979 so that people need to (a) be registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board and (b) possess a Fidelity Fund Certificate before completing transactions.

Rachel Maclean: All estate agents are legally required to register with HMRC and must belong to a Government-approved redress scheme. The National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Agency Team regulate the estate agency sector, including overseeing the operation and enforcement of the Estate Agents Act 1979 and other relevant legislation.

Housing: Cooperatives

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which body (a) oversees the work of housing co-operatives in England and (b) deals with complaints on housing co-operatives.

Rachel Maclean: Where co-operatives provide social housing, they may register with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and then they must comply with the regulatory standards set by the RSH.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much he has budgeted for publicising the requirement for voters to hold appropriate voter ID.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to the response to the UQ I gave on the floor of the House on 21 February 2023.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department has provided to local authorities to cover additional costs as a result of the changes to voter identification.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 133710 on 3 February 2023, and to my UQ response on the floor of the house on 21 February 2023.

Housing: Safety

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason the cost of (a) waking watches, (b) alarm upgrades and (c) other interim safety measures were not included in developers' obligations in the Developer Remediation Contract published on 30 January 2023.

Lee Rowley: The Developer Remediation Contract was designed to ensure that developers address life-critical fire-safety defects arising from the design and/or construction of buildings as quickly as possible, so that residents are safe in their homes.The Government has made over £60m available to replace costly waking watch measures with common fire alarm systems, under the Waking Watch Replacement Fund. The funding has been used to install alarms in over 300 buildings to date.

Housing: Disability

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department collects data on the wheelchair accessibility of residential properties when those properties are sold.

Lee Rowley: The department collects information on the accessibility features of all households through the English Housing Survey.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2023 to Question 138293 on Elections: Proof of Identity and with reference to the percentage figures of people who hold photographic ID contained in the Cabinet Office Photographic ID research Headline Findings of 21 March 2021, if he will make an estimate of the numbers of people in (a) total and (b) in each age group who do not have the required ID to vote.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to the response to the UQ I gave on the floor of the House on 21 February 2023.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on requirements to record the (a) number and (b) identity details of people turned away from polling stations for not possessing required identification.

Lee Rowley: It is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission to issue guidance to Returning Officers.

Business

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will require local authorities to develop strategic business plans which highlight growth opportunities in their communities.

Dehenna Davison: The Levelling Up White Paper set out our plans to strengthen local institutions, support private sector partnerships, and build economic clusters to boost local investment, jobs and growth. It is available on gov.uk.

Levelling Up Fund

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much of the money allocated to, and by, his Department under (i) round one and (ii) round two of the Levelling Up Fund has been spent.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much money remains in the Levelling Up Fund within the Department.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether any money that was once held by his Department in the Levelling Up Fund has been handed back to the Treasury.

Dehenna Davison: The total grant amount allocated to date under the Levelling Up Fund programme is £3.8 billion. No money has been returned to HM Treasury.As set out publicly, £1.7 billion was allocated under Round 1, of which £1.27 billion was allocated to projects led by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.A further £2.1 billion was allocated under Round 2, announced on the 19 January 2023. Further details will be set out in the usual way.

Freeports: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's correspondence to the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 27 September 2021, reference 9099/G/21, when he plans to announce the freeport location in Northern Ireland.

Dehenna Davison: This Government is committed to extending the benefits of our Freeports programme across the UK and continues to work with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland on how best to do so.

Antisocial Behaviour: Hampstead and Kilburn

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that (a) Camden Council and (b) Brent Council have the resources to address increases in anti-social behaviour in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency.

Dehenna Davison: We have increased Core Spending Power for local government by £5.1 billion from 2022/23 in the 2023/24 Local Government Finance Settlement, ensuring councils are better equipped to address increases in anti-social behaviour.The Mayor of London is accountable for policing performance in London.

Social Rented Housing: Greater Manchester and West Midlands

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress he has made on allocating the £30 million funding for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands to improve the quality of social housing.

Dehenna Davison: We are making good progress to ensure £30 million funding announced by the Secretary of State gets to Greater Manchester and West Midlands as soon as possible. The funding will be split equally between WMCA and GMCA, each of whom will retain discretion over how they allocate it across the social housing stock within their areas as long as it is spent on making improvements in the quality of social housing, particularly homes with serious (category 1) hazards.

Social Rented Housing

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to improve social housing access for larger families.

Dehenna Davison: Local authorities are responsible for allocating social housing and are best placed to manage demand. By law they must give 'reasonable preference' to specific groups, including people who are homeless, in overcrowded housing or who need to move for medical or welfare reasons. This is to ensure that the priority for social housing goes to those who need it most. These rules support larger families by giving priority to people who are in overcrowded housing.Since 2010, we have delivered over 632,600 new affordable homes, including over 441,612 affordable homes for rent, of which over 162,800 homes for social rent. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.

Refugees: Ukraine

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of Ukrainian refugees on the adequacy of the process for securing private accommodation after leaving the Homes for Ukraine scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Felicity Buchan: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 109692 on 19 December 2022 We are working across government, with councils, tenant groups, Ukrainian community representatives and landlord organisations to ensure Ukrainians are receiving the help they need to access housing and to gather feedback. We have used this feedback to consider appropriate guidance and our future policy for accommodating Ukrainians.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Poplar and Limehouse

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Ukrainian nationals are hosted in Poplar and Limehouse constituency under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Felicity Buchan: The most up to date data on arrivals through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be accessed here .

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to establish a guarantor scheme to help support Ukrainian citizens leaving the Homes for Ukraine scheme into private rental accommodation.

Felicity Buchan: We recently published updated guidance on renting in Ukrainian and Russian to help households who wish to move on from sponsorship by accessing private accommodation here.

Local Government Finance

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the impact of inflation on local authority budgets for (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24; and if he will make an estimate of what the impact of inflation on 2023-24 budgets equates to as a proportion of local authority core spending power as set out in the provisional local government finance settlement for 2023-24 in the Written Statement of 19 December 2022, HCWS 469.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 902313 on the 21 November 2022.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Business: Plants

Kerry McCarthy: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support her Department provides to innovative plant-based businesses, including financial support for research and development.

George Freeman: Funding has been available since 2010 for businesses developing novel solutions across the agrifood sector. Projects supported include novel crop production systems, plant proteins, meat alternative plant-based foods, and agroceuticals. Through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, approximately £90m has been committed since 2018 to support 'Transforming Food Production' projects. Innovate UK has delivered support to grow the sustainable protein industry as part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme. This supports the creation of new sources of resource-efficient, low-emission proteins, including innovative plant-based solutions. Competitions currently open include the ‘Novel Low Emission Food Production Systems’ competition worth £16m jointly committed by Innovate UK and Biotechnology and Biotech Sciences Research Council, and Innovate UK’s £20m ‘Better Food for All’ competition

Project Gigabit: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary for State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to launch the next round of Project Gigabit procurement projects in Wales.

Paul Scully: As part of our £5 billion investment in Project Gigabit, we are delivering procurements across Wales to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans.We are working closely with the Welsh Government to deliver a number of procurements across Wales which are set to be launched in early summer this year.Pre-Procurement Market Engagement will commence later this month for areas of North, South East and South West Wales. Pre-Procurement Market Engagement for Mid and North West Wales is already underway, as part of a wider exercise for a cross-regional procurement.On top of this delivery, the earlier Superfast contract in Wales is currently providing gigabit-capable connections, with the project set to complete by the end of March. Approximately 32,500 premises have been reached to date, and by completion, up to 37,000 premises will be reached as part of the contract.

Counter Disinformation Unit

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department provided to the Counter Disinformation Unit in each year since that Unit's formation.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report by Big Brother Watch entitled Ministry of Truth: The Secretive Government Units Spying On Your Speech, published in January 2023.

Paul Scully: The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) monitors narratives, trends and attempts to artificially manipulate the information environment online. It does not monitor individuals, however the content reviewed may incidentally include personal data, such as names and social media handles embedded within content published on publicly available sites. The CDU has a legal basis for collecting or processing any personal data as set out in Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, and the processing is necessary for us in our work as a public body and in the public interest.Freedom of expression and the media are essential qualities of any functioning democracy; people must be allowed to discuss and debate issues freely. The CDU’s role is not to spot every instance of disinformation but where harmful content is identified in the course of the CDU’s work which may breach a platform Terms of Service, this may be referred to the relevant platform who will consider whether or not to take any action. The CDU’s work is consistent with the Government’s principles and values on protecting freedom of expression and promoting a free, open, and secure internet and as such no action is taken on any content originating from journalists or politicians.

Counter Disinformation Unit

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Counter Disinformation Unit has collected information on (a) sitting Members, (b) former Members, (c) political activists and (d) political organisations since the Unit's formation.

Paul Scully: Addressing the challenges of disinformation is a whole of the government effort. The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) is a team within the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) which works in close partnership with other government teams. Requirements are continually reviewed to ensure appropriate levels of resourcing, including surge capacity as needed. It would not be appropriate to comment on funding levels publicly as doing so would give malign actors insight into the scale of our capabilities.

Department for Business and Trade

Agricultural Products: Food

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the value of the plant-based food market to the UK; and whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential for future growth of that market.

Nigel Huddleston: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Business and Trade: Consultants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to the public purse of spending on external consultants by (a) Companies House, (b) the Insolvency Service, (c) the Intellectual Property Office and (d) the Met Office was in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021, and (iii) 2022; and whether any of that spending related to the preparation of funding bids to (A) her predecessor Departments and (B) HM Treasury.

Nigel Huddleston: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Business and Trade: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

Nigel Huddleston: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mining: Seas and Oceans

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of British Geographical Society’s report entitled Deep-sea mining evidence review – MineralsUK, published in October 2022.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Minimum Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the next National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme list for companies failing to pay National Minimum Wage will be published.

Kevin Hollinrake: Publicly naming employers who do not comply with the rules remains an important part of our enforcement and compliance toolkit. It clearly demonstrates that it is never acceptable to underpay workers and that employers who do will be held responsible. To date we have named around 2,500 employers, covering around £20.8 million in arrears and £24.1 million in penalties. The Government last named 208 employers on 8 December 2021, including some of the UK’s biggest household names. The next National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme list will be published in due course.

Help to Grow Schemes

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2023 to Question 113307 on Help to Grow Schemes, what the total business uptake was for Help to Grow: Digital when the scheme closed.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2023 to Question 113305 on Help to Grow Schemes: Costs, how much funding her Department provided for (a) setting up, (b) administration and (c) redemption of vouchers for Help to Grow: Digital between 1 March 2022 and 2 February 2023.

Kevin Hollinrake: Data on the Help to Grow: Digital scheme will be released in Spring 2023 after the scheme has fully closed.

Industry: Policy

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to publish an industrial strategy.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Growth is one of the Prime Minister’s top five priorities. The Government has a plan to grow the economy, capitalising on both the UK’s world-leading position in the sectors of the future and the regulatory and trade opportunities of leaving the European Union. This Department plays a vital role in this cross-Government effort, and we are committed to working in partnership with the private sector. For example, Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, is leading a review of regulation in five high-potential sectors – digital technology, green industries, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries – to identify barriers to innovation and catalyse growth.

Batteries: Manufacturing Industries

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to provide financial support to the UK battery industry to help that industry compete with international competitors, including those in the US.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government supports the development of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain through the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF). Investment through the ATF will help to develop a high-value end-to-end electrified automotive supply chain in the UK by unlocking private investment, including in gigafactories. Government is also working internationally to minimise any harmful impacts on British business and has provided a response to the US Treasury consultation on the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Clean Steel Fund

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which projects have received funding from the Clean Steel Fund.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government recognises the important role the steel sector plays in the UK economy and we continue to work with the sector to understand and support its decarbonisation investment plans. To this end, we have already established various funding schemes such as the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund and the Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Revenue Support. Further proposals, including the approach to the Clean Steel Fund, will be unveiled as soon as possible.

Iron and Steel: Trade

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact on the UK steel industry of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HM Government has committed to consult this spring on a range of policies that could potentially mitigate future carbon leakage risk. This includes a carbon border adjustment mechanism, as well as product standards and measures to grow the market for low emissions industrial products. HM Government continues to monitor the development and detail of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, as its design and secondary EU legislation continues through the EU’s processes.

Iron and Steel: Recycling

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of low-residual steel scrap for the UK steel industry.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans she has to incentivise the use of scrap steel.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to increase funding for steel scrap sorting techniques to improve processing, identification, separation and supply of low-residual scrap.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: In 2021, the Government funded a report, undertaken by the University of Warwick, which assessed options to improve recycling rates of steel and aluminium in the UK. Following on from this, the Government has been working closely with both the steel and metals recycling sectors through an industry Scrap Working Group to gain a deeper understanding of the options available to increase availability of low-residual scrap. Alongside this, the Government is providing funding for new metals recycling techniques though the £66m Transforming Foundation Industries programme.

Postal Services: Universal Service Obligation

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Royal Mail Customer Service point closures on (a) that organisation meeting its Universal Service Obligation and (b) people with protected characteristics; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Hollinrake: Decisions on the closure of customer service points are an operational matter for Royal Mail, provided they are consistent with Ofcom’s regulatory obligation on Royal Mail to provide access points for the universal service. While the Government has no role in Royal Mail’s operational decisions, I understand that Royal Mail has completed the first stage of its review of customer service points and decided to maintain the current estate.

Small Businesses: Billing

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her planned timetable is for the publication of the findings of the payment and cash flow review.

Kevin Hollinrake: As set out in the published terms of reference (www.gov.uk/government/publications/prompt-payment-and-cash-flow-review/payment-and-cash-flow-review-terms-of-reference), we anticipate delivery of a conclusions document in 2023 which would:summarise our findings in response to the engagement undertaken, and next steps;respond to the consultation on the Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017;set out the findings of the statutory review on the performance of the Small Business Commissioner.

Draft Audit Reform Bill

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to progress the Government's proposed Audit Reform Bill.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government is committed to legislating when Parliamentary time allows. The Secretary of State is considering priorities across her new Department’s range of responsibilities, and will discuss them with Cabinet colleagues as necessary.

Ombudsman: Codes of Practice

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many times her Department has instigated an investigation into breaches of the regulators code under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 in the last five years.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Regulators Code is established under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, sections 21 to 24. The Act does not make provision for investigations into adherence by a regulator with the principles of the Code. No data is therefore available.

Delivery Services: Standards

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to introduce legislative proposals to help ensure that parcel delivery companies are providing high levels of customer service.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Postal Service Act 2011 already provides Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the sector, with powers to impose requirements on postal operators to protect customers. Ofcom's current consumer protection condition requires all postal operators to establish simple and inexpensive procedures for dealing with consumers’ complaints about postal services. Following its review of the regulatory framework for post last year, Ofcom proposed new guidance on complaints handling processes for parcel operators which will take effect from 1 April 2023. Ofcom has committed to ongoing monitoring of the new provisions and to consider enforcement action, or further regulation, if progress is not made.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy Efficiency Taskforce

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2023 to Question 118843, when he plans to announce further details on the scope and membership of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce; and whether the taskforce has met as of 20 February 2023.

Graham Stuart: The Government announced the appointment of Alison Rose DBE as Co-Chair of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce (EETF) on Monday 20 February. Details of the appointment and terms of reference can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/alison-rose-appointed-to-help-accelerate-energy-efficiency. The first meeting of the EETF will be held in March. The membership of the EETF steering group will be announced in due course.

Heat Network Efficiency Scheme

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has estimated the average annual savings to users of the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES); and when he expects HNES users to receive a reduction in their bills.

Graham Stuart: The Government has not estimated the average annual savings to consumers – these will be project specific and dependent on the heat network optimisation measures for which grant support is awarded. The point at which bill reductions and/or other benefits are delivered will also be project specific, and dependent on a) the heat network optimisation measures for which grant funding is awarded and b) each projects delivery timescales. The Government does expect to see benefits being delivered to some networks that are awarded grants in early funding rounds in advance of the next heating season.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with energy companies on taking steps to ensure that non-direct debit customers receive alternative fuel payments directly to their bank accounts.

Graham Stuart: Payments began from 6 February and electricity suppliers have until the end of February to pay eligible customers, including non-direct debit customers. When and how customers receive their payment will depend on their electricity supplier and how they pay their bill.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason an eligible person who is not the named bill payer is unable to access the warm home discount scheme payment for winter 2022-23.

Graham Stuart: The Warm Home Discount is a supplier obligation scheme, and energy suppliers participating in the scheme are required to provide rebates from energy bills to eligible households. Through data matching, the majority of core group rebates are provided automatically, without the household having to take any action. For that reason, only the named bill payer can receive a rebate.

Energy Intensive Industries

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of not including companies with the SIC codes (a) 90.01, (b) 90.02 and (c) 90.4 in the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries list on the ability of those companies to absorb any additional costs incurred as a consequence of that decision.

Graham Stuart: During the review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, analysis of many contributions from the private sector, trade associations, the voluntary sector and other types of organisations were assessed. The Government has taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries support. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity, and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes.

District Heating: Finance

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to provide a £200 one-off payment to users of communal heat networks.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed in the Autumn Statement that the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which was intended to support businesses, will be reformed from April and targeted at the most affected businesses. It has been decided that heat network consumers will not receive the Domestic Alternative Fuel Payment of £200, which was designed to support households using fuels such as oil, LPG or coal. Instead, the Government will bring forward a more appropriate route to deliver support, beyond April 2023, that is in line with support provided by other domestic consumers.

District Heating: Energy Bills Rebate

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to provide energy bill support for communal heat network users on a parity basis with any further support provided to domestic gas users.

Graham Stuart: Some domestic heat network customers are already receiving energy bill support through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. The Government is developing options to ensure domestic consumers on a non-domestic meter continue to benefit from support in line with other domestic users after April.Further information on the scheme will be made publicly available in the near future.

District Heating: Finance

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether financial support will be made available for users of communal heat networks from April 2023; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: Domestic heat network customers currently receive support on their heating and hot water bills via the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. The Government is developing options to ensure these domestic consumers benefit from support in line with other domestic users after April 2023. Further information on a successor scheme will be available in the near future.

Electricity Generation: Infrastructure

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of directing the Distribution Network Operators and Independent Distribution Network Operators to bury new transmission infrastructure along existing road and rail corridors instead of overhead pylons.

Graham Stuart: Distribution network operators build, own and operate the lower voltage distribution network infrastructure. When identifying preferred options for new infrastructure, Network Operators consider a range of factors including cost, environmental and socioeconomic impacts, deliverability and system benefit. This can include consideration of undergrounding along existing road and rail corridors, however this can significantly increase the costs of projects, which are paid for by consumers.

Cabinet Office

List of Ministerial Responsibilities

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will update the document entitled List of Ministerial Responsibilities, last published in December 2022.

Jeremy Quin: A revised List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published in due course. In the meantime, departments are updating their ministers' pages on GOV.UK which also include portfolio information.

Cabinet Office: CCTV

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies utilise Chinese-manufactured CCTV systems.

Jeremy Quin: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.

Treasury

Iron and Steel: Imports

Bill Esterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effectiveness of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in ensuring that imported steel is subject to similar carbon taxes to UK steel.

James Cartlidge: The government committed to consult on this issue, and intends to do so in the spring. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-05-16/hcws26The Government recognises the role that steel plays within the UK economy and is working with industry on its decarbonisation options.

Car Allowances: Voluntary Work

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to review the Approved Mileage Payment Allowance for volunteer drivers.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to review the Approved Mileage Payment Allowance that can be claimed by volunteer drivers.

James Cartlidge: Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Fuel is therefore only one component. As an average, it will necessarily be more suitable for some drivers than others. This may vary across sector. The AMAP rate also applies to volunteers. Organisations do not need to use the AMAP rates. Instead, they can reimburse the actual cost incurred when volunteer drivers can show evidence of the expenditure, without a tax liability arising. Or they can agree to reimburse a different amount, such as a higher or lower rate. Any reimbursement above the AMAP rates would be subject to Income Tax unless the driver can show evidence of the expenditure. As volunteer driving does not count as employment for NI purposes, volunteers do not need to pay NICs on profits made from volunteer driving. Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.

Electricity Generation: Taxation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential effect of the Electricity Generator Levy on the international competitiveness of the renewables sector.

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing an investment allowance for the renewable energy sector within the Electricity Generator Levy.

James Cartlidge: Britain is a global leader in renewable energy. Since 2010, our renewable energy production has grown faster than any other large country in Europe. We are committed to ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to invest in clean energy and have set stretching deployment ambitions, including up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Government is supporting renewables deployment through a range of policy levers, including the Contracts for Difference scheme, through which generators have received almost £6 billion net in price support to date. The Electricity Generator Levy is a proportionate approach to recovering a share of the extraordinary profits being realised by certain generators which will help to fund our vital public services and our support for households and businesses facing increased energy bills. The importance of continued investment in renewables has been reflected in the design of the levy setting the benchmark price at a level approximately 50% more than the average electricity price over the last decade, indexing the benchmark price to inflation and providing a £10 million allowance below which the levy will not be charged.

Energy Bills Discount Scheme: Hospices

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to add hospices to the list of Energy and Trade Intensive Industries eligible for increased support under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme.

James Cartlidge: The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide all eligible non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme. It will also provide businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support. We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries support. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes. All other eligible non-domestic users, including eligible hospices, will automatically receive a unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas. Additional financial support has been provided to Integrated Care Boards for inflation in addition to the energy support provided by the Government.

National Insurance

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether National Insurance incentives for employers will be included in his Spring Budget 2023.

Victoria Atkins: The Government will consider policy decisions in the upcoming Budget in the context of the wider fiscal and economic situation. All aspects of the tax system are kept under review.

Wagner Group: Sanctions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury during the Urgent Question on Wagner Group: Sanctions Regime on 25 January 2023, Official Report, column 1013, what recent estimate he has made of when the internal review of how sanctioned individuals seeking waivers from the Treasury to undertake court cases against journalists in the UK will report.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury regularly reviews its policies and processes. We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to the licensing of legal expenses. There are currently no plans to publish a report on this matter, but we will update Parliament appropriately in due course.

Income Tax: Scotland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on income tax rates.

Victoria Atkins: HM Treasury Ministers and officials regularly engage with their Scottish Government counterparts on a range of issues, including tax matters.

Health and Social Care Levy

James Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2022 to Question 72471 on Health and Social Care Levy, what the cost to the public purse has been of the (a) IT, (b) extra support staff and (c) other costs arising from the (i) planned introduction and (ii) reversal of the Health and Social Care Levy; and what estimate he has made of the impact of these changes on the level of National Insurance collected in the 2022-23 financial year.

Victoria Atkins: The additional National Insurance Contributions (NICs) revenue from the 1.25 percentage point increase is not directly identifiable in HMRC data. In its Economic and Fiscal Outlook for October 2021, the Office for Budget Responsibility said that it expected the measure to yield £16.5 billion over a 12-month period. Since that forecast, multiple changes to NICs rates and thresholds have taken place, making it difficult to quantify the effect of the increased rates that applied from April to November in isolation from other changes.

Apprentices: National Insurance

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the cost of not requiring employers to pay national insurance contributions for apprentices under the age of 25 in England since the introduction of that relief.

Victoria Atkins: The National Insurance Contribution (NICs) for apprentices under the age of 25 was introduced in financial year 2016 to 2017. Annual estimated costs for this relief are published by HM Revenue and Customs in their Non-Structural Tax Relief Statistics publication which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. This information is for the UK, and HMRC does not provide a break-down of these costs for England.

Business: VAT

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the threshold above which businesses are liable to pay VAT.

Victoria Atkins: The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why, at £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether.Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years. While some businesses have argued that a higher threshold would reduce administrative and financial burdens, others contend that a lower threshold would provide a fairer competitive environment.It was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2026.

Tax Avoidance

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC pursues unpaid tax receipts from disguised remuneration schemes operated before 9 December 2010.

Victoria Atkins: HMRC have open enquiries and assessments into disguised remuneration (DR) use before 9 Dec 2010. These will need to be resolved by way of settlement with HMRC or through litigation. The Independent Loan Charge Review was clear that HMRC should continue with enquiries and settling cases under their normal powers, including where loans now fall outside the scope of the Loan Charge. HMRC continues to work with and support taxpayers to resolve all outstanding enquiries and assessments relating to their use of DR loans, in accordance with their published DR settlement terms and HMRC Litigation and Settlement Strategy.

Electric Vehicles: VAT

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of equalising the rate of VAT on (a) public and (b) home charging for electric vehicles.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of changing the VAT on public charging of electrical vehicles so that it is equal to the VAT on home charging.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has not specifically introduced a reduced rate of VAT for charging EVs at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes, and electricity used to charge EVs currently mean that the domestic fuel and power reduced rate is effectively being applied to EV charging at home. Introducing an additional VAT relief for public EV charging to match the VAT treatment of domestic fuel and power would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. There are therefore no plans to change the VAT treatment of EV charging.

Beer and Cider: Excise Duties

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to (a) reduce duty charged on draught beer and cider served in pubs and taprooms by 20 per cent from August 2023, (b) introduce a lower business rates multiplier for hospitality businesses in recognition of their community value and (c) increase support with energy bills for beer and pub businesses from April 2023; and if he will make a statement.

James Cartlidge: On 19 December, I announced an extension to the current alcohol duty freeze to 1 August 2023, to align any uprating decision with the implementation of the alcohol duty reforms and provide certainty to businesses. The Chancellor will confirm the alcohol duty rates from 1 August 2023 at Spring Budget. Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will receive a tax cut worth over £2 billion in 2023-24. Eligible properties will receive 75% off their business rates bill, up to a cap of £110,000 per business. Through the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme, all eligible businesses will receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024. The Government provided an unprecedented package of support through this winter, and we have been clear that such levels of support were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow businesses to adapt.

High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a comparative assessment of the equity of the application of the High Income Child Benefit Charge on total family incomes for families where (a) one partner earns above the threshold and the other does not work and (b) two partners each earn below the threshold but whose joint income would be above the threshold if it had been earned by a single person.

John Glen: The Government introduced the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) from January 2013 to ensure that support for families is targeted at those who need it most. The tax charge applies to anyone with an individual income over £50,000 who claims Child Benefit, or whose partner claims it, regardless of family make-up. HICBC is calculated on an individual rather than a household basis, in line with other income tax policy. Basing HICBC on household income would effectively introduce a new means test, which would be costly to administer and create burdens on the majority of families who receive Child Benefit. The current approach only requires a small number of Child Benefit claimants to complete a self assessment tax return to report and pay HICBC, while leaving the vast majority of claimants unaffected.

Cider: Production

Simon Jupp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking through the tax system to help support small cider producers.

James Cartlidge: The Government is introducing comprehensive alcohol duty reforms from 1 August this year, which will support small cider producers through the introduction of the new Small Producer Relief, providing a tapered duty discount which helps small beer and cider producers to grow and thrive. The Government is also providing a duty discount on draught cider sold in pubs, whilst equalising the treatment of fruit ciders with beer. Further, ciders between 3.5% and 8.5% ABV will continue to benefit from a lower duty rate than other categories of alcohol to support their transition to the new duty system.

Car Allowances

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the level of appreciation of mileage rates payments accounting for inflation for public sector employees since 2010.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the level of appreciation of mileage rates payments accounting for inflation for local government employees since 2010.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the level of appreciation of mileage rates payments accounting for inflation for national health service employees since 2010.

James Cartlidge: Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Fuel is therefore only one component. As an average, it will necessarily be more suitable for some drivers than others. This may vary across sector. The AMAP rate is advisory and employers can choose to pay more or less than the advisory rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers, including public sector organisations, local government and the NHS to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Employees who receive less than the AMAP rate can claim tax relief on the difference. Employees who receive more may be taxed on the difference. The reimbursement of travel costs for NHS employees is covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions, jointly agreed by employers and the NHS trade unions. In November, the NHS Staff council reviewed these terms and conditions and recommended that from 1 January 2023 reimbursement rates for cars should increase to 59ppm for the first 3,500 miles and 24ppm thereafter. Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.

Income Tax

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue is collected in income tax through (a) PAYE and (b) self-assessment from people who are registered as (i) male, (ii) female and (iii) any other gender.

Victoria Atkins: HMRC collects Income Tax from individuals through both PAYE and Self-Assessment. HMRC publish statistics about tax receipts in the monthly statistical bulletin, found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk. This separates Income Tax received through PAYE and through Self-Assessment. HMRC also publish statistics about total income, total tax liability and total income from non-PAYE sources, broken down by sex, in the Survey of Personal Incomes, found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-incomes-tables-31-to-311-316-and-317-for-the-tax-year-2019-to-2020/personal-incomes-statistics-2019-to-2020-commentary-for-tables-31-to-311-316-and-317#table-33--distribution-of-total-income-before-and-after-tax-by-gender-tax-year-2019-to-2020.

Treasury: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

James Cartlidge: Consistent with the answer given to a written question on 17 May 2022, the information requested on recruitment consultant expenditure is not available, as we do not hold detail of expenditure on recruitment costs at this level of granularity for any of the financial years in question.

Treasury: Official Gifts

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has approved gifts exceeding £300,000 made by (a) Government departments and (b) arms-length bodies through the (i) sale and (ii) lease of public assets at below market value since December 2019.

John Glen: Managing Public Money (MPM) states that if an asset is sold or leased at a loss, the proceeds forgone (compared to market value) should be treated as a gift. Departments should treat this gift in line with MPM, approved by HM Treasury and disclosed in Annual Report of Accounts to Parliament via Written Ministerial Statement. Following a review, HM Treasury has not identified any approvals given for gifts above £300,000 in value through the sale or lease of an asset below market value since 2019.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the gambling white paper; and which Minister in her Department will be responsible for that white paper.

Stuart Andrew: The Gambling Act Review is wide-ranging and aims to ensure gambling regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our vision and next steps in the coming weeks. The minister responsible for gambling will be announced soon.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition Certificates

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government plans to introduce measures to enable (a) posthumous and (b) expediated granting of a Gender Recognition Certificate.

Stuart Andrew: As announced in 2020, we believe the Gender Recognition Act 2004 is effective, strikes the right balance and allows for those who wish to legally change their sex. We have no plans to change it.